Student to be honored as contest finalist

Jaime Daniels will be honored as a writing contest finalist this Sunday in Washington, D.C. (Submitted photo)

A student from Shallow
Brook Intermediate school will
travel to Washington, D.C., this
weekend to be honored as a finalist in a regional writing
competition.

Jaime Daniels, a fifth-
grader, will travel to the capital
Sunday with her family to attend the National Book Festival, with a ceremony to honor
the winning participants of the
contest.

The writing
contest and the
book festival are
sponsored by the
Library of Congress. The contest was open to
students who
visit libraries in
the Mid-Atlantic region. Daniels submitted her essay at the
Red Land Community Library
in Etters.

The "A Book That Shaped
Me" contest asked rising fifth-
and sixth-graders to write an
essay about a book that had a
personal impact on their lives.

Five Pa. finalists: Daniels
was one of five finalists from
Pennsylvania. Daniels said she
wrote about "The Titan's
Curse," by Rick Riordan. The
book is the third in a series
about Percy Jackson, a character who interacts with gods
from Greek mythology.

Daniels said the book taught
her about making choices,
keeping in touch with people
who are close to her and helping people in need.
"Even though choices might
be hard, you should do what
you think is right," Daniels
said.

Daniel's mother, Jessica,
said entering the contest paired
her daughter's competitive
nature and love for writing.

"It was totally all her," she
said.

Deb Sullivan, community
relations director for York
County Libraries, said the
county submitted 26 essays for
the contest.

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Sullivan was
thrilled Daniels has a chance to
participate in the book festival
this weekend.

"She'll get to meet and see
authors who have gone on to
publish books," Sullivan said. "I
think that's pretty inspiring."

Daniels said she is working
on her own book in her spare
time: "Whistle in the Wind" is
about two cousins and a brother and sister who travel the
world to find out secrets about
places like Japan, Germany
and Spain.

The book festival is a free
event to the public and will be
held on the National Mall in
Washington, D.C. At the ceremony, Daniels will receive a
$50 gift-card prize.